1. Field of the Invention
The disclosed subject matter is in the field of plugs for information technology.
2. Background of the Invention
Often times, large companies will have server rooms with hundreds, and maybe thousands of network ports. Some of these ports will have cables plugged into them; some will not. Sometimes ports are numbered, but at times it can be impossible to know which port is wired and where it terminates. When maintenance must be performed on the network system, often times it means that a network engineer must test each port individually to determine where it is hooked up. This can be a laborious process. Furthermore, endless streams of cables can be a nightmare for network engineers. Trying to figure out what cable corresponds to which office, floor, network, etc. can be a daunting task. A simple device that can plug into a network port that provides a labeling mechanism that can also sever as a labeling mechanism for cables can solve much of the aggravation involved in network maintenance for large companies or industries. In addition, empty jacks can pose security risks. Unauthorized users can insert cables into the jacks and potentially infect the network with viruses or malware.
There are several devices that act as blanking plugs for electrical outlets. The most basic device is a seal that can be inserted into an outlet or a jack. For example, U.S. Pat. App. 2013/0330965 to Hildebrandt discloses a seal that can fit over an electrical outlet. The seal closes off the plug, but does not provide a label for said plug.
In addition to basic plugs for outlets, there are some plugs that are also labeled. European Pat. No. 1845300 to Maycock discloses a closure plug for pipes that is labeled. Maycock's plug has a preprinted message on the printed directly on the plug stop. For example, a plug stop might come with the message “Do Not Use” or “Out of Order”. While it might be possible to purchase plugs for commonplace names such as “2nd Floor Conference Room” or “Reception Area”, it might be difficult or expensive to have labels custom made for every room or location in a large office. Furthermore, there is no flexibility with these labels. If the office configuration changes, a company may have to invest in all new labels.
There are also several examples of plugs for phone jacks and other telecommunication devices which lock. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,284 to McDaid and U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,883 to Kidney both disclose a telephone lock that fits into a phone jack. The device will lock and can only be removed with a key. While this is useful to prevent tampering, it is not useful if an IT worker needs easy access to the device. Carrying extra keys may be burdensome to an IT professional. When there are thousands of jacks, it would be cumbersome to have to use a key to access a port, especially if there were different keys for different jacks.
There are several inventions for labeling a cable, although they are different from the present invention. The simplest and most common is an adhesive tag that wraps around a cable. The problem with an adhesive tag is that it can be very difficult to remove and is not flexible if the cord needs to be relabeled. There have been several attempts to improve on cord labeling. U.S. Pat. No. 7,530,821 to Miyake discloses a labeling system for cable cords. Miyake describes a plastic wrapper that can fit over a cord. The plastic wrap per has pre printed text on it with a label such as “For Digital Cable”, etc. The plastic wrap can be shrink wrapped onto a cable. The problems with this labeling system are similar to the ones associated with the Maycock patent. With pre-printed manufactured labels, there are only so many common labels and to deviate from that requires special orders and could become burdensome.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,556,522 to Cunningham discloses a connector, such as a cable connector or a flash drive with a pull out label. There is a small storage section that houses a label. A user can pull the label out, and using a pen, label what the connector is plugged into. This label is useful, but it may become difficult to relabel if the connector is moved or needs relabeling.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,582 to Marson discloses an identification tag for a jack. The jack features a tab that keeps the jack plugged into the socket. The features a plastic rectangular body that sticks out from the jack. A user can place a label on the body of the tag that lets people identify the socket. Because users can label the tag with a stuck on label, it is capable of being relabeled with ease. However, tags cannot be used to identify a cable that is plugged into the jack if the tag is ever removed.
Thus, there exists a need for a tag that can fit into a jack in order to label the jack that is will label the jack, can easily be relabeled, is easy for IT professionals to work with, is relatively inexpensive and can also be used to label any cables that get plugged into the jack.